Car-coupling.



W; A. PALMER.

011111 COUPLING.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 211.21, 1910. 984,390. Patented Feb. 14,1911.

2 SHBETBBHEBTL lllll W. A. PALMER.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED 3.21, 1910.

984,390. Patented Fab. 14,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

.u lilinrmn i WILLIAM A. PALMER, OF LUDLOW, KENTUCKY.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

."atentod Feb. 14, 19.11.

Application filed April 21, 1910. Serial No. 558,807.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIA'AI A. lxnunn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Ludlow, in the county o't' Kenton and State, ofKentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inair-Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to iniproveim-nts in car couplers which may beautomatically coupled and locked and which may be auton'iaticallyuncoupled upon the release of the locking means, or the knuckles ofwhich may be thrown open by operating the looking means and kickermanually.

One object of the invention is to provide a coupler which is quick inthe operation of coupling and rmcoupling and which forms a positive andstrong interlock tor the coupling jaws. In order to accomplish this endI provide a particular term of locking block and kicker cooperating withthe beveled face on the tail of the knuckle. and also cooperating withelevations and depressions formed on the coupler to raise and lower theaxis of locking block and kicker during its rotary movement.

\Vhile the invention is not restricted to the exact details shown anddescribed. still tor the purpose of disclosure re'lcren e is had to theaccompanying drawings showing a practical embodiment of same. in whichdrawings like characters designate the same parts in the several views.and in which- Figure l is a horizontal longitudinal section on the line11 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 2 is a crosssection on the line 23 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of thearrows. Fig. 3 is a vertical longit-udil'ial section on the line 2-3-43of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. t is alongitudinal vertical section on the line tl of Fig. 1 and looking inthe direction of the arrows, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of thelocking block and carrier.

1 designates a draw bar having the usual draw head jaws 2 and 3, the jaw3 being shown provided with the usual longitudinal recesses 4; andcurved face 5, and the jaw 2 having hinged thereto the coupling knuckle6 by means of the hinge pin 7 passing through the knuckle and the upperand lower apcrtured cars 8 and 1) extending from the jaw 2, the lowerapertured ear 5) being disposed a slight distance above the bottom ofthe jaw to term a recess or shoulder t0, the cotter pin 11 passingtlnwmgh the hinge pin 7 and abutting against said shoulder to preventthe hinge pin trom turning and wearing.

The knuckle (3 is provided with a tail piece having a too '12 and a heel'1 the upper and lower faces of the toe being recessed and beveled tocooperate with the nose on the locking block and the kicker, hereinaltcrreferred to. The heel l3 forms with the tail member a recess it adaptedto cooperate with an imvardly projecting lug 15 formed on the jaw 2.

ltetcrring to llig. 5, the combined locking block and kicker consists ofa body portion it; provided with a. beveled nose member 17 comprisingthe locking block. and being also provided with a linger or kicker 18 atthe rear oi said body member and downwardly projecting in a position toone side ol said nose or locking block. The body portion is alsoprovided with a horizontally disposed rear lug l5). and the coml'iincdarrangement is journaled within the draw head by means of the pintle 20operating in a vertical clongated slot 21 cut in the jaw 3 ol the drawhead, and also by a lateral arm 32 journaled in a horizontal slot 21 cutin the opposite jaw 2. The arm 22, on its outer end, is provided with anapcrtured ear .H- to which may be attached an operating link Forrotating the combined locking block and kicker on the axis of the pintle2t) aml the arm The top and bottom oi? the inside surfaces ol. the drawhead are recessed. as at 271, to permit oi the oscillation ot thelocking block and kicker, the lower surlacc being provided with a slot26 in line with the kicker finger 1S, and adjacent this slot 26 isformed a shell or ledge portion 27'. the upper surface of which isdepressed, as at 28, forming a cam adapted to be engaged by the lug 1t)during oscillation of the locking block and kicker, the pintle 20 beingele vated in the slot 2t so that the kicker is given a slight sidethrust as well as a forward .motion during rotation, and engagingbeneath the beveled recess sur'lace oi the tail member positively andrapidly opens the knuckle, the locking block 17 having in the meantimebeen elevated -from its position between the end tliacc. 12 01 the toeand the inner fiat tace of the jaw It will also be observed that thelocking block is so disposed with relation to the kicker that, as soonas the lug 19 passes to either side of the cam 29, the center of gravityof the combined member is shifted to one side or the other of the axis,and the combined locking block and kicker is more quickly forced intoproper position. Also, as the lug 19 rides over the cam surface 29, thepintle 20 being elevated in its slot, upon reaching the other side ofthe cam the combined member tends to drop downwardly by its weight, andthe lug 19 sliding over the decline of the cam surface tends to alsomore quickly thrust the parts into their proper positions. It will alsobe observed that by the arrangement of the otlfset heel 15 and the lug15, when the locking block 17 is in the locking position shown in Fig. 1the tail member of the knuckle is held against transverse 1nove ment,and should the hinge pin break the heel 13 would engage against the lugl5 and still maintain the coupler closed.

Having thus described one torm ot the invention, the particular featuresof novelty are pointed out in the following claimsz 1. In a car coupler,the combination of a hollow draw head, a knuckle hinged thereto andprovided with a tail member disposed within said hollow head, acombined. locking block and kicker cooperating with said tail member, apin and slot connection be tween said draw head and one side of saidcombined locking block and kicker, permitting a limited verticalmovement of one side of said locking block and kicker, means foroscillating said locking block and kicker, and means located on thecoupler head and engaged by said locking block and kicker tor slightlyelevating the same while being oscillated. substantiall as described.

2. In a car coupler, the combination of a hollow draw head, a knucklehinged thereto provided with a tail member disposed within said drawhead, a rotatably mounted look ing block and kicker cooperating withsaid tail member, said locking block being normally disposed forwardlyand said kicker being normally disposed rearwardly of the axis of saidlocking block and kicker, and said kicker being disposed to one side ofsaid locking block, means for oscillating said locking block and kicker,and means for slightly elevating and lowering same during oscillationcomprising a raised cam surface disposed within said draw head, and arear wardly projecting lug disposed at substantially right-angles tosaid kicker and adapted to engage said raised cam, substantially asdescribed.

3. As an element in a car coupler, the combined locking block and kickercomprising a body portion having a horizontal torwardly projectinglocking block and a rear downwardly projecting kicker offset from theplane of said locking block and also being provided with a rearwardlyextending horizontal lug lying within the plane of said locking block,said lug being adapted to engage a cam surface located on the couplerhead to move said element vertically during operation and said elementbeing provided at one side with a pintle and at the other side with ashank, said pintle and shank t'orming trunnions for said element,substantially as described.

In a car coupler, the combination of a hollow draw head having recesseson its upper and lower faces, a knuckle hinged thereto and having a tailmember disposed within said hollow draw head, a cam disposed within saidlower recess, a combined locking block and kicker operating within saidrecesses and cooperating with said tail, said combined locking block andkicker having a rearwardly extending lug adapted to engage said cam, andsaid combined locking block and kicker having an axis jonrnaled at oneend in a vertical slot and at the other end in a horizontal slot formedin said draw head, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I atlix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

lVlLLIriM A. PALMER. ll itnesses lV. F. Ma'r'risoi CHAS. F. HITE.

